These Hollow Vows

Book came out in great condition, no wear and tears.The plot is horrible, bought it read it, only to be disappointed by how much the main character is just so helplessly without a personality. Don’t buy it.

The main character is pretty annoying and a really bad example for YA readers. Absolute moron who might become an alcoholic one day.

The book is well written, the first few chapters are gripping and the pace is good. I liked the character the main character, Brie too. She's in a difficult situation at the start, having to work to pay off huge debts for her room and board at her auntie's. I felt as thought the story was being set up for some good conflict later on.But sadly, the start of the book was the best part. Everything that was set up in the first few chapters seems to be brushed aside as stroy progresses. Brie becomes very ignorant of her surroundings and allows herself to be more so, by not standing her ground about certain things. The Fae, who we are constantly warned about, do not appear dangerous at all. Which ruins the much of the conflict of the book.The pace of the pace of the book also dips and never really picks back up. I found it difficult to get through the last half of the book.But I did mange to finish it and I didn't hate it. But I don't think I'll continue with this series and I have no doubt it will be series as not everything is resolved.

My main issues with this book are the pacing, the MC and certain plot movements.Pacing wise, it felt like it started of well but there's a fairly large section of the book where nothing really happens plot wise. It felt repetitively slow.Onto the MC, seemed like a strong female lead, clearly is naive and not just around relationships. Mysteriously forgave one said man rather quickly for something most would not have done? Every man ever seems to fancy her and of course she's special, but of course. Few other niggles but I can't be bothered to go deeper into it.Lastly, certain bits of the plot left me confused and as if they didn't really make sense. It came across as the author having this great idea but no real clue how to execute it. The start is fine, the end is fine, the middle feels confused.ANYWAY despite my negativities, I enjoyed it enough to read the sequel. It had the makings of something particularly good, but it is no ACOTAR.

I liked this book. I liked the love triangle, the slow burn with Finn, and the amazing world building. There were a couple of negatives though. SPOILERS: Firstly the whole point of the book was that she had to make the prince fall in love with her, but it seems like they were already in love from the start, so it wasn't exactly hard was it? Ronan made no secret of the fact that he wanted to be with Brie, so I thought all that was a bit pointless. Secondly, it made me cringe a lot when Brie got 'spiked' and all the embarrasing things she was saying to Finn. It just made her look stupid. I hate it when authors write stuff like that, taking away from the seriousness of the storyline. Then Brie declared her love for Ronan and decided to bond with him, but she also had strong feelings for Finn who she apparently feels like she has known forever. How is that love? Apart from that though, it was a great story and I will definitely be buying the next book .

I can often tell I am going to enjoy a book from the first few pages, and this was one of them. It was very easy to read, and I loved the style of writing, at first it felt almost rhythmic. I love stories about the fae especially when they involve the Seelie and Unseelie, throw in a bit of romance and I am hooked. It definitely had vibes of The Cruel Prince and Dance with the Fae Prince, but it also kept giving me hints of other stories but then there would be a twist which would completely throw me. For a moment there were hints of Little Thieves/Robin Hood, stealing from those who had more than enough, and there was a Cinderella vibe in the early parts of the book. I even thought a fairy godmother had popped up at one point, only to it to turn out to be something completely different. However this was not a retelling and it had it’s own original story that kept me hooked. There were a couple of things I guessed, but I was nevertheless kept guessing as to which way our protagonist was going to go in terms of relationships. The male characters in this book were intriguing and although not entirely trustworthy, not completely bad either. You couldn’t even call them completely morally grey, as the actions of both were for the greater good of their own people. This book ended on a cliff hanger, and I will have to wait until book 2 releases to find out whether Sebastian’s feelings for Brie are entirely honest, or if the dark prince will get the girl.I have given this book five stars because, although at times I thought it was becoming slightly predictable, it would then often go off in a different way to that which I had predicted, keeping me interested enough that I didn’t put it down for two days. I also loved the fact that the Seelie and Unseelie fae aren’t necessarily following the rules of one being inherently good and one inherently bad as in usual in stories about the fae. I was left feeling that some inhabitants of the unseelie court aren’t so evil and that the seelie fae have a few skeletons in their closets. A definite twist on the usual definition of these different groups of fae.🕸🕸🕸🕸🕸

This book was part Cinderella retelling, and part ACOTAR (therefore, Beauty and The Beast) vibes. I will start by telling you; I loved it in spite of it's faults - Hence a four star rating and not five).Firstly, the plot was rushed in places and drawn out in others. We, as the reader, had to make assumptions for plot holes and, as someone who likes to know what is going on, this tested my patience on occasion! For example, on page 37, Abriella's sister was sold in the few minutes that Abriella was outside the front of the house. "'Where did they take her?' I'll find her. I'll search the entire godforsaken realm to get my sister back."'No need for that love, she was taken in the three minutes you've been out the front of the house, she can't of gone far. Forget the realm, search your back garden!' I thought. However, on page p93 (A whole 56 pages later!), we are told that "Not only can goblins move freely between and within realms, they can do so instantaneously," leading us to assume that this explains the earlier events.It also irritated me that, after her initial outburst, she seemed to forget her sister was in captivity all together and went on to have a jolly good time in her absence! "Could it hurt? To indulge in another dance before I risk everything in my search for my sister?" Yes! The dancing could be explained by the later explanation of the effects of fairy music. But, again, you have to wait to be told this and then have to assume that this was the cause. However, her later romantic inclinations cannot be explained away so easily. "How can I be so greedy for more or his touches - more of these long glances and tenderly spoken words - when Jas needs me?" I don't know. But I, sure as all hell, wouldn't indulge myself in any way if my sister had been taken against her will.Having said the above, I was hooked, line and sinker! Some of the events of the book hit me so hard, that I felt an actual pain in my chest! I devoured the story and was devastated at the end, wanting to go on and know what happened next!